Gamecocks football recruiting: South Carolina leads for Javon Kinlaw; Naseir Upshur visit coming

Some recruiting news and notes surround the South Carolina Gamecocks today, focusing primarily on some 2016 targets.

--Goose Creek's Javon Kinlaw has been a name that has been connected to the Gamecocks for a while. Today, the four-star OT, ranked from anywhere as 5th in the country at the position (on Scout) to 25th (on Rivals), reported that Carolina is the leader for his services. Florida, Florida State and Louisville are his other top schools, but for now, it's very likely that Kinlaw will be playing his college ball close to home. With two other O-linemen having committed already (JUCO standout Akeem Cooperwood and Will Putnam), I'd expect that the staff would bring two or three more before they let up in that department. As for a decision, Kinlaw is waiting until after the season.

--Tight end Naseir Upshur, a Philadelphia product originally set to commit on August 8, will presumably do so after the season. He will be taking a visit to Columbia next week on way back from Florida State.

Coveted Philadelphia tight end @NaseirUpshur tells me QBs @dh_simba7 (#Terps) and @BFMcIlwainqb12 (#Gamecocks) are recruiting him hardest.

— Tyler Donohue (@TDsTake) July 30, 2015

A fallback for Carolina if they don't grab Upshur could be JUCO TE Kalan Ritchie, who signed with the school but failed to qualify and is not officially tied to any FBS program right now (although it's almost a given he will recommit once he gets his grades in order).

--Larry Collins has put the Gamecocks in his top five. The wide receiver, who is from right down the street (Lower Richland), also has Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wake Forest on his list, in no order.

--And how about a Kyle Davis update? A few weeks back, his father remarked that the one-time Gamecocks commit might not get a real shot at developing at Georgia than he would at a place like Auburn or—well—Carolina. Today, in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Consitution (the enemy's paper!), Davis pretty much told his dad to let him make his own choice:

"He doesn't affect my decision with any school," Davis said. "I can only go off of what (UGA) had in the past. I mean, they had A.J. Green and Hines Ward.

We'll just leave that there.